Witch Trials II - Cleaners
by SilentRanger64
Summary: The continuation of Witch Trials.
1. Oil Factory

_Thirteen Years After the Events of Witch Trials_

A few special infected enter an industrial facility for oil distribution. There is a Smoker with a large cigar in his mouth, a sniper rifle on his back, and a fully automatic rifle in his hands. He wears a black suit and a red tie. There is a Hunter twirling a switchblade in his hand. He wears a white hoodie with an arrowhead-like symbol on the front and white cargo pants with bulging pockets. He wears black combat boots with metal hooks on the front made for scaling up buildings much faster than normal Hunters. Finally, there is a Witch carrying two semi-automatic combat shotguns on her back and a double barrel in her hands. She wears black top with cleavage cutout and exposed midriff. She also wears a tight black leather skirt that reaches half-way down her thighs and high heel black leather knee-boots with red trim. Her long white hair is very well kept and brushed to near perfection and reaches half-way down her back.

These special infected are part of a special group called The Cleaners, which is comprised of those plagued by the infection, but still retaining most of their humanity. They work for the government trying to regain territory from the infected. They are sent in to clean out infected from different areas in order for the non-infected to rebuild and settle into the areas. They are kept separate from the non-infected, as they are still carriers of the infection and have the chance of infecting non-infected people.

The team of three explores the outer area of the facility, taking down any infected in the area. The Witch seems to enjoy shooting the infected in the groin, whether they're male or female. The Hunter sticks to the ceilings, dropping down on top of infected and assassinating them with his switchblade. The Smoker stays at a distance, shooting infected in the head with his rifle.

The team enters the main facility and clears it out of the infected, saving a Witch for last. The team's Witch tackles her counterpart and sexually assaults her before taking out her combat shotguns and shooting the Witch in the face with both at once, exploding her head across the floor. The surviving Witch gets up and refills the shells on her shotguns before strapping them to her back. She picks up her double barrel and continues with the other two.

The team's Hunter growls at the Witch. "Do you have to sexually handle every Witch we run into?"

The Witch lets out a small chuckle. "Of course I do, my dear little gamer."

The Hunter frowns irritably. "Don't call me your dear."

"Sure thing, dear."

"I said-"

"Let it go, kid." The Smoker interjects.

The Hunter stabs an infected in the head from around the next corner. The stabbing is a bit more violent than normal, showing his frustration.

The Witch licks her lips as she watches the Hunter.

The Smoker puts a hand on the Witches shoulder. "Don't get any ideas with the boy."

The Witch waves him off. "Don't worry about that, my dear. I won't touch the boy."

"Glad to hear." The smoker pulls out his sniper and scopes in on an infected Hunter from across the hall. "Good night, you poor man." He shoots the infected Hunter in the head. "At least they don't really move much for us. They don't see us as targets to attack."

The Witch nods and shoots an infected in the groin before kicking it down and piercing its temple with her heel. She continues walking with the Smoker as the Hunter moves on ahead. The Witch glances at the Smoker from the corner of her eye. "What's the next place?"

"There are a few possibilities. There's a military compound, a farmhouse, and even a decent sized town where we might have more Cleaners to work with." The Smoker answered.

"Hm… A military compound might be fun."

"And very likely more costly. It'll take more shots to kill these military outfitted infected."

"I bet they'll have a few Tanks and Smokers."

"Possibly."

"What about the farmhouse?"

"It's a bit secluded, so there'll probably only be a few infected. Although, searching the fields will take a while."

"Perhaps. Then there's the town."

"Yes. The town might also take a while. It's a good thing that we don't really need sleep."

"I still enjoy sleeping."

"Why?"

"I'm lazy at heart, so taking time to not do anything is the best for me."

"Is that so? I never knew that about you. I always thought you were always a hard worker."

"Hard worker doesn't mean that I don't enjoy being lazy when I can."

"I suppose. You seem to be rather proud to be lazy."

The Hunter returns. "Yeah. She's like Grif from Red vs Blue."

Both the Smoker and Witch look at the Hunter, speaking at the same time. "What's that?"

"It's… gah. Nevermind. You wouldn't get it anyways."

The Witch and the Smoker look at each other, a bit confused.

The team continues to clear out the facility until all of the infected are dead before taking a break to eat.

The Hunter chews on rations as the Witch gobs on beans from a can. The Smoker puffs a cigar while watching the two.

The Hunter looks at the Smoker. "Not going to eat?"

The Smoker shrugs. "I'll eat when we get back to the station. Better food."

"If you say so."

After eating, the group returns to base. The Smoker heads to the cafeteria to eat as the Witch heads to her room and the Hunter heads to the roof.

 _Smoker_

The Smoker sits down with a tray of food and begins eating. He hears heeled shoes walking up behind him. "Time for my psych test again?"

The nurse sits down next to the Smoker. She is a very attractive immune named Charolette. She has long, silky, platinum blonde hair that is tied into a pony tail and soft green eyes. She wears a pink nurse get-up with a knee-length skirt and white high heels with thinly woven, white stockings.

The Smoker notices and acknowledges the woman's beauty, but gives no words of compliment. He has never been one to form attractions. He has been trained by a group that took him in as a child and involved him into their less-than-legal business of selling military-grade weapons. He often had to deal with double-crossers and the occasional police officer. It is ironic that he now serves the very government that he had been trained to avoid for most of his life. Despite all of this, he didn't remember any of it. All he kept of his past life was his training.

Charolette holds a clipboard as she watches the Smoker eat. "Do you remember your name yet?" She asks in one of the softest voices that the Smoker has ever heard. It is a voice that any normal person would have trouble tying to, which includes infected.

The Smoker finishes chewing his food and swallows. "Not yet, but I guess I haven't really been trying that hard."

"I understand. You remember your past though, right?"

"Yes."

"What about your parents?"

"I was orphaned young, so I don't really have much to work with."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Have you thought about where you got you training from?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

Charolette sighs. "I do wish that you would try."

"I don't really care about my past life. As far as I'm concerned, it's in the past, in a life that I can no longer return to. Why should I bother to remember it?"

Charolette looks disheartened. It makes the Smoker feel a bit sorry for her.

"I'm sorry. I know that you're just trying to do your job. I didn't mean to say something inconsiderate."

"It's okay. You're still better than most of the others I check on." Charolette smiles and gets up from her seat. "Have a nice day."

"You too, Charolette."

Charolette walks away, her heels clicking against the floor, slowing getting quieter and quieter as she moves away.

 _Witch_

The Witch enters her room and shuts off the lights. She then completely undresses before sitting in the corner, hugging her knees. She starts remembering her old friends and those that had helped her after the infection. All of them were now either dead or infected and not like her. She then thinks about a boy who had betrayed her.

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

She looks at the door. "Not today Matt. I'm not in the mood to love right now."

"Then can I at least comfort you?"

The Witch hesitates before going to the door and opening it.

The boy named Matt is standing there. He has sandy blonde hair that reaches half-way down his back. He also has pearlescent blue eyes that give off a caring and friendly vibe. He wears a grey t-shirt and brown cargo pants with black combat boots.

Matt looks at the Witches naked body, but doesn't seem to be affected by it. However, he does enter the room quickly and shuts the door behind him. He then turns to the Witch and hugs her. The Witch gently hugs Matt and buries her face into his chest. They stayed like that for several minutes until the Witch brings Matt to the bed and lay down with him, staying close to his body. After almost an hour of just laying together, the Witch falls to sleep.

Matt strokes her hair and smiles. "Sleep well, Valerie." He stays with her.

 _Hunter_

The Hunter sits on the edge of the roof, looking up at the rising sun. It had taken them over a day and a half to clear the factory. The Hunter feels arms wrap over his shoulders. However, he bears no response. He just sits there as the scent of a girl he knows fills his nostrils.

A sweet voice whispers into his ear. "When will you come home, David?"

The Hunter speaks very solemnly. "You know that will never happen."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"I want you to come home."

"I'm sure you do, but you would probably not want to be with me anymore."

The voice giggles playfully. "Not with that kind of thinking. You know full well that I didn't love you for your looks. I loved you because you understood how I lived. I loved you because you didn't hold high expectations of me."

"But how can you love me after I put you into a coma?"

There was silence in response to David's words. He gets up and jumps off the roof to the street and walks down the sidewalk. He used to have a girlfriend named Jennifer. They had many of the same interests; video games, anime, and even fitting fetishes. They loved each other more than anything until the infection hit. Jennifer was immune, but refused to leave after David got infected. Initially, he went berserk and attacked her. He didn't have his claws developed yet, so he beat her. He beat her chest and face until she went limp. He finally managed to snap out of it and was horrified by what he did. He tried to get help, but people would scream and run away. He didn't understand until he looked in the mirror. That's when he got his gaming hoodie that he bought from the Ubisoft merchandise store online. It was an Assassin's Creed hoodie with the logo right on the chest and the pointed tip on the hood. With the hoodie on, he managed to get help from some people to move Jennifer to a safe zone. He didn't follow however, as he couldn't bring himself to see her in case she woke up and hated him or was scared of him. Now he has hallucinations of her almost every day, even when on an operation.


	2. Military Compound

_Mess Hall_

David returns to the mess hall after his walk to find Valerie, Matt, and the Smoker sitting together. Valerie is dressed in an innocent, white, sleeveless dress that reaches to her knees. She also wears white high heels. David sits down next to the Smoker, who looks at him but remains respectfully silent. Valerie, on the other hand, does not remain silent.

"How goes it gamer boy?" Valerie says excitedly. "You look depressed. Guess you still haven't gone to see her yet."

"Valerie!" The Smoker shouts sternly.

"It's okay, Pops." David assures.

The Smoker sighs. "What have I told you about calling me that?"

"I got nothing else to call you and you're the rational one among our squad. I think the name Pops suits you."

Valerie smiles happily. "I agree with gamer boy."

David grumbles at the nickname, but doesn't say anything.

Matt finally contributes to the conversation. "You guys are an odd group. Also, I have your next location."

The Smoker looks at Matt. "Well then, what is it?"

"It's the military compound to the southeast. However, it's been taken over by survivors."

Valerie frowns. "That's no fun."

David looks skeptical. "Why the _however_?"

The Smoker pulls out his sniper and does a thorough check of it. "Because the survivors are thugs that won't give up the compound without a fight, and guess what? They have an entire armory and vehicles at their disposal."

Valerie looks a bit alarmed. "Why would they send only us?! We'll get destroyed!"

"Don't worry; you're not the only ones going. We're sending a squad of Tanks with you as well as some immune commandos." Matt assures.

Valerie grins widely. "Tanks huh?"

David crosses his arms. "Hm…"

The Smoker looks at the still skeptical Hunter. "What is it?"

David looks up. "These thugs might have built a very thorough defense against all types of infected, including Tanks. Will this one squad really be enough?"

The Smoker rubs his chin. "You may have a point."

"That's what the commandos are for. Being human, they can go to the southern gates, acting as though they are travelling survivors. They'll likely get let in and added to the ranks of the thugs. Once inside, the commandos will make their move at night and cripple their units before opening the north gate for you all. They've already prepared and look the part rather well." Matt explains.

The Smoker gets up. "I'd like to see them myself."

Matt nods and gets up. "I figured you'd want to inspect them for yourself. The rest of you should prepare."

Valerie and David nod and get up. They both head to their respective quarters to gear up.

 _Military Barracks_

The Smoker follows Matt to the war room where the commandos had been called for inspection. There are four commandos that look much more like ordinary civilians. They all look like they had gone through hell and even have cuts and scrapes all over their bodies. Their clothes are a complete mess and have tears and dirt all over them.

The first commando is female. She has black hair that is tied up into a ponytail and blue eyes. She looks be in her late twenties. She wears a blue hoodie, brown cargo jeans, and black vans. The commando to the woman's left is also female and has red hair that is left loose and green eyes. She looks to be in her mid-thirties and wears a Kevlar vest over a brown shirt, baggy blue jeans, and black combat boots. The commando to the first woman's right is a dark-skinned boy that looks no older than fifteen. His hair is brown and messy and his eyes are also brown. He wears a red shirt and blue jeans with running shoes. The last commando is an older man in a black suit and tie with black Italian shoes. He has a military cut and weary blue eyes. The commandos look rather at ease in the presence of the Smoker.

Matt looks to the commandos. "The red-head is Jane, the other woman is Kendra. The boy is named Dante and the older man is Johnson."

The Smoker raises an eyebrow. "He looks military. Wouldn't that give him away?"

"Ex-military." Johnson says in a stern voice.

"I see. What about the kid?" The Smoker inquires.

Dante looks at the Smoker. "I've survived long enough to be considered an adult."

"Fair enough. What about the other two?"

"Jane and Kendra? Jane used to be a computer programmer for Microsoft before the infection started. She then learned to survive on her own for a while until a rescue team picked her up and brought her back here. Kendra is an expert in martial arts and close quarters combat. She can easily disarm a thug that's directly in front of her."

"I didn't hear anything about military training in either of those two." The Smoker says in agitation.

"That's because they never got any."

"How does that make them commandos then?"

"Because, they've survived."

The Smoker goes silent as he looks at the operatives. It is true that survivors are the best at surviving, but the coming mission is against thugs. However, the Smoker doubts that they will get military operatives. He turns to Matt. "All right. I guess they'll have to do, even if I don't feel confident."

Matt nods and looks at the operatives. "You may go prepare."

The operatives move out of the room, as does the Smoker.

 _Vehicle Depot_

He wasn't going to need any other main weapons, so he grabs a Desert Eagle as his side weapon. He then heads to the vehicle depot and waits for the others. David is already there, twirling a switchblade out of boredom. He is wearing the same outfit as every other mission he went on. Valerie arrives a few minutes after the Smoker. She was wearing a dark red turtleneck with black trench coat. She also had on tight, black leather pants and her high heel knee boots. The operatives arrive last, getting into a separate vehicle and taking off.

Valerie looks at the others. "You think they'll be long?"

The Smoker checks the sight on his rifle. "Might be a few hours."

David growls a bit. "I hate waiting."

Valerie grins. "We could always fuck to pass the time."

Both David and the Smoker pause and look at Valerie.

Valerie maintains her grin. "Well?"

David shakes his head. "You're such a slut."

Valerie shrugs. "Suit yourself." She turns to the Smoker. "You?"

The Smoker sets to sniper in the truck. "Your parts might work, but mine don't."

Valerie frowns. "That's depressing… if that's really the case."

"I guess you'll never know." The Smoker says calmly.

Valerie sighs.

David looks at Valerie. "Why don't you just ask Matt? He is your boyfriend after all."

"Eh? Whatever. Matt's busy." Valerie says.

David frowns. "That's just code for 'He didn't want it'."

Valerie glares at David. "Wrong. I was the one that declined him."

"Oh. That's not like you. What's wrong?"

"I had another episode."

The Smoker looks at Valerie. "When was your last episode?"

Valerie sits down. "Six months ago."

The Smoker continues to watch Valerie. "Maybe you should back out of this mission. We can get another special to fill in for you."

Valerie shakes her head. "No. I'll be fine."

The Smoker puts a hand on her shoulder. "Take a break. I'm not asking."

Valerie looks at the Smoker and sighs. "All right." She gets up and walks away, heading back to her room.

David looks at the Smoker. "Is your dick really dysfunctional?"

The Smoker looks at David. "Let's just find number three." He gets up and heads to the mess hall.

The Hunter follows him.

 _Mess Hall_

The two arrive and take a quick look around. They see a number of special infected as well as regular infected. The Smoker spots a Witch sitting by herself. She has pork and beans in front of her, but isn't eating. She has somewhat short hair that looks like it was self-cut with a knife. It is messy and the job is rather poor. It still has a brilliant white color and is clean. Her claws are slightly pink, signifying that she was a killer up until just recently. She is in a fresh sleeveless dress, that was pale blue in hue. The Smoker walks over to her table.

"Are you new?" The Smoker inquires.

The Witch nods slowly.

"I know the food is not that great, but it's better than starving."

"I suppose…" The Witch says with a quiet voice.

"What's your name?"

"My name?" The Witch looks up at the Smoker.

"Yes. What would you be called?"

The Witch looks back at her food and remains silent.

"I see. I'll leave you your space then."

"Thank you…"

The Smoker looks around and spies a Jockey eating a sandwich. The Jockey was wearing a custom made suit for his deformed body. "Hm…" He walks over. "Pardon me. May I sit?"

The Jockey chuckles. "I dunno. Is this a private area?" He asks in a high-pitched tone.

"I suppose not. I guess it isn't reserved either, since you put it in such a way."

"You would be correct in that manner."

The Smoker sits down across from the Jockey.

The Jockey takes a bite of his sandwich. "Say, you're one of those Cleaners, right?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds like a misinterpretation to call it cleaning when all you're doing is killing Infected."

"We also killed thugs, which is our next mission."

"Is that so? Shouldn't you be preparing?"

"We're a man down on our team."

"You offering me a job?"

"Perhaps. What do you say?"

"I say that I've had enough of killing people."

The Smoker sighs.

"However, I know an immune that loves fighting and killing."

"We need a special."

"Fair enough."

The Smoker looks around a bit more.

David sits across from the Witch that the Smoker was talking to. He watches her for a while as she picks at her food before saying anything. "You seem more consumed by the nature of a Witch than the nature of a person."

The Witch looks at David. "What's it to you?"

"Well, this is a secure place, and people like you might be welcome here, but it'd be more easing to see you much happier to be out of whatever shit hole that you had been stuck in."

"It wasn't a shit hole."

"What was it?"

"It was home."

"Home? You came from one of the recently cleared districts, right?"

"It had already been cleared by me and my friend."

"Friend?"

The Witch remains silent.

David gets a pained look on his face. "You didn't… kill your friend after you changed, did you?"

"I had already changed."

David looks at the Witch's pink claws. "But you've been killing up until now."

The Witch trembles a bit. "Leave me alone…"

David continues to look at her for a moment before sighing and getting up. He walks over to the Smoker. "I can't find anyone to help us."

"I'm having the same difficulties." The Smoker replies.

"The other team is already out there. If we don't get someone to make this a party of three, they could end up in trouble."

"I know."

"Those thugs have a lot of guns; BIG guns."

"I know."

"If our guys blow cover…"

"I know! Look, just keep looking."

The Witch watches them before getting up and walking over. "I can help…"

"Huh?" David looks at her. "I thought you wanted to be left alone."

"I…"

The Smoker puts a hand on the Witch's shoulder. "Don't force yourself to kill if you don't want to."

"They're bad people?"

"Huh?" The Smoker looks at the Witch with a bit of confusion.

"These people you're fighting; they're bad, right?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah. They are. They are hoarding big guns and killing whoever they want with them." David explains.

"Then I want to help."

"Do you have a name?" The Smoker asks.

"I…"

"Don't worry about it. We can give you one until you're comfortable. How does Melinda sound?" David asks.

The Witch looks a bit more relaxed. "Okay."

"Do you know how to use a gun?" The Smoker asks.

"Yes. I also know how to use my claws… obviously."

"Let's hope you don't have to. You are wearing such a pretty dress for it to get soaked in blood." David says suavely.

The Witch hints at a smile when the other team's beacon goes off.

"Time to go." The Smoker says.

"Well, welcome to the team Melinda." David says.

Melinda nods.

The team of three then head to the garage and get into a jeep.

"Fuck yeah. I'm driving this bitch." David says and he jumps behind the wheel.

Melinda gets in like a normal person into the passenger side.

The Smoker gets in back and checks his guns before reaching into the payload and grabbing a SPAS-12 and handing it to Melinda. "Here. You can use this."

"Huh?" Melinda looks at the gun. "Okay."

David howls before stepping on the gas. He then goes straight in reverse, hitting the jeep behind him. "Oh… Uh…"

Melinda and the Smoker stare at him.

"Hey, second try always works." David changes gears and drives out of the garage, heading towards the military compound.

 _Military Compound_

 **Earlier**

After leaving the barracks, the infiltration team get an armored jeep and drives to the military compound. The thugs aim their guns at them.

"Come any closer, and you're all dead."

Johnson stops the jeep as a number of thugs run out of the compound and surround them.

"You guys must be lacking tact if you think you can just run up to our fort in a vehicle."

Johnson looks at the thug. "We actually wish to offer some equipment in exchange for some space."

"You honestly believe we just let people in because they offer shit to us? We can easily just take it over your dead bodies."

Kendra looks at the thug. "Oh? We can provide other… "services" as well."

The thug looks at Kendra, then at the others in his group. They all seem to glance at each other before making a unanimous decision to lower their weapons. The thug then looks at Kendra. "You'd best be ready to satisfy the lot of us."

Kendra nods.

"Alright then, take it slow, old man. Try to run any of us over, and you'll make a lot of people unhappy to have to kill tonight's cum-dumpsters."

Johnson slowly drives into the compound as directed by the thugs.

Jane discreetly activates the beacon as soon as they're inside before looking at Kenda. "Are you sure about this?" She asks in a whisper.

"I hope they get here before I have to entertain these animals." Kendra whispers back.

"Alright! Time for you to make us shine!" A thug grabs Kendra by the hair and pulls her out of the vehicle.

"Ngh! Ouch!"

The thugs surround her, chuckling in a twisted manner.

 **Now**

The Specials arrive near the compound and meet up with the Tanks.

"You guys ready?" David asks as he gets out of the jeep.

The Tanks roars and pound their chests.

"Alright. Keep it down. The other team is inside and have already activated the beacon. We need to set up a plan of attack."

"The plan is simple. The Tanks go in as the front line. I will hang back with the sniper to take out their heavy gunners and snipers. You and Melinda head to the rear gates and take out their support." The Smoker says.

"Alright. I guess that's the plan then. You must have been thinking about it the whole way here." David says.

"Of course. There's nothing else to do in the vehicle if I'm not driving."

"Well, let's get in there. Tanks, go nuts."

The Tanks roar and charge the main gate as the Smoker gets on top of the hill and aims down his sights.

Melinda and David circle around back, staying out of sight.

The thugs patrolling the main gate see the Tanks coming and sound the alarm. All forces head to fight the Tanks.

Melinda and David make it to the rear gate as David looks at the height of the wall. "This should be an easy enough jump."

"What about me?"

"I'll open the small door on the gate to let you in, but you better come in shooting, 'cause they're going to hear me coming in."

"Right."

David leaps with a screech as he grabs the top of the wall and pulls himself over.

Melinda stands there for what starts to feel like too long. "David?" Her hands start to shake as she grips the shotgun. "No… No no no no no…" She starts to breathe heavily as her mind races. "Not again…" The door suddenly opens, startling her as she quickly aims at it.

"Hey! Get in here! Don't freak out on me now!" David shouts as a few thugs come running over.

Melinda runs into the compound and aims at one of the thugs, but hesitates, allowing him to fire a couple rounds at her from his assault rifle.

David throws a knife at the thug, sticking him in the head. "Stop spacing out!"

Another thug aims at the two.

Melinda closes her eyes and pulls the trigger as she barely feels the shotgun buck, the thug falling over.

David pounces a third thug and stabs him in the head.

Melinda opens her eyes and looks around.

"Don't just stand there. Come on!" David runs towards the center of the compound as Melinda follows. They eventually spot the infiltration team being guarded by a few thugs.

Jane is holding Kendra in her arms.

Melinda slows to a stop, looking at Kendra. She is bruised and staring at the ground. Melinda then looks at the thugs before dropping her shotgun and running at them. "Ah!" Taking them by surprise, she rips one apart in a matter of seconds as David pounces another.

"Shit! Witch!" The thugs open fire on Melinda.

Johnson runs over and grabs one of them by their rifle and turns it upwards before headbutting him and kicking him in the stomach, sending him away. He then aims at the other thugs and starts shooting.

Dante pulls out a pocket knife and swiftly slices up a thug, hitting his tendons first to disarm and immobilize him. Then then slices his arteries before running to the next thug.

Jane pulls Kendra away from the fight.

Melinda grabs a thug by his gun and throws him across the courtyard before running after him and slashing him repeatedly with her claws.

David dodges gunfire and gets behind the last thug, stabbing him in the neck and letting him bleed out.

Melinda runs off towards the main gate where the sounds of gunfire can be heard.

"Melinda! Shit." David looks over at Dante and Johnson. "Get Kendra and Jane out of here."

Johnson looks at Dante, who nods and runs to get Jane and Kendra.

"What are you doing?"

"Finishing this fight." Johnson says as he runs to the main gate.

David growls a bit before following him.

The two arrive to see Melinda getting shot over and over as she claws through the thugs.

"Fuck! Die, you bitch!"

Johnson opens fire as David gets out his pistol and starts shooting.

"We need to get that gate open!" David shouts. "Melinda, snap out of it!"

Melinda doesn't even hear him as she claws up a thug, covered in blood, some of it her own. She then rises and screams at the thugs, preparing to charge.

David screeches and pounces Melinda behind cover. He then backhands her, stunning her.

Melinda looks up at him, tears running down her face. "I…"

"I need you to open the gate. The thugs are going to focus fire on you, but you're the only one capable of handling that kind of damage."

"I… I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. This was never meant to be your fight. Me and-" David turns and throws a knife into a thugs skull as he rounds the corner. "Look, just get the gate open. Me and Johnson will do our best to cover you." David runs off.

Melinda gets to her feet and looks out from behind the cover to the the fighting. She then spots the gate controls. She takes a breath and runs to it.

A thug sees Melinda and alerts the others. "Protect the gate controls!" He and the other thugs start shooting Melinda.

Melinda starts pressing buttons as the bullets scratch her, some even penetrating her. "Ngh!" She growls and fights off her urge to attack before resuming the controls.

A thug runs at Melinda with a shotgun. "Die!"

Melinda screams and punches the control, smashing them just as the shotgunner shoots her at points blank, throwing her back as she lays there on the ground.

"Melinda!" David pounces the shotgunner and stabs him in the head.

The Tanks suddenly push the gate open, the locking mechanisms having malfunctioned and released.

"Retreat into the armory!" The remaining thugs start running inside one of the buildings.

The Tanks chase the thugs as David runs to Melinda, who isn't moving. "Melinda! Hang in there! You don't get to die for your sacrifice!"

The Smoker runs into the compound and see the two. "Is she?"

"I don't know if she'll make it all the way back to the city."

"There has to be a medical wing. Take here there and see what you can do."

"I have no training in medicine."

"I do." Kendra says as she and Jane walk over. Kenda is clinging to Jane and not making eye contact with anyone.

"No. After what you gone through, there's no way I can let you-"

"There's no time! I… I have to do this. She's not even supposed to be here. I can tell by her clothes that she's just a civilian. She has no responsibility to give her life to this fight." Kendra says, gripping Jane.

David wants to hold his ground, but she is right. Without her, Melinda will die. "Fine. Help me out Pops."

"Right." The Smoker picks up Melinda and carries her to the medical wing as David and the two women follow. Upon arriving, the Smoker sets Melinda on an exam table before looking at Kendra. "Get to work."

"Don't just demand her!" Jane shouts.

"Don't, Jane. This is not the time for this."

"But-"

"No." Kendra hesitantly moves away from Jane and walks around the wing, gathering medical supplies for Melinda.

The Smoker looks at David. "Go help the Tanks finish off the thugs. They don't move well in enclosed spaces."

"Neither do I."

"Better than the Tanks still."

David growls. "Fine." He heads to the armory. One of the Tanks is dead and the other two are pinned at the doorway by heavy machine gun fire.

One of the Tanks looks at David and points to the doorway.

"Yeah. I can see that." He cracks his neck. "I've had about enough of these assholes." He leaps into the vents with a screech. Fortunately, the heavy machine gun fire is too loud for them to hear it. He crawls through the vents until he's at the upper left side of the room, peering down at five thugs. He starts to growl.

"Huh?" One of the thugs looks up at the vent as a knife sticks him in the head.

David lands on the heavy gunner and stabs him in the neck, between the plates of the heavy combat armor.

The other three thugs turn their guns to David and start shooting.

David darts back and throws a knife into one of them before pulling out his pistol and shooting at another.

The last thug pulls out a shotgun, but before he can fire, he gets grabbed by a Tank and slammed into the floor repeatedly until he's dead.

David spins his pistol before putting it away. He heads to the dead Tank and kneels down. "Sorry, Freddy."

The Tanks walk over.

David stands. "I'll signal the biohazard team." He heads outside and calls in the all clear. He then returns to the Medical Wing to check on Melinda's condition.

The Smoker is standing to the side as Kendra is sewing up Melinda's wounds.

"How is she?" David asks.

"I managed to get most of the bullets out of her, but there's some that are just out of my reach." Kendra replies.

"I see. Will she be okay?"

"She has decent odds."

"What about you?"

Kendra flinches a bit. "I… I'll survive."

David nods. "Alright." He walks around the Medical Wing, looking at all of the bottles of medicine and surgical tools as Kendra works on Melinda.

The Smoker approaches David. "What happened in the armory?"

"A heavy gunner got Frederick, but the thugs have been taken care of."

"Very well. Is the biohazard team coming?"

"Yeah. I called in the all clear for them to come in."

"Good. Once Kendra finishes up, we'll all head home."

"Yeah."

The clean up crew arrives about an hour later and begins cleaning up the bodies.

"Finally. Let's get back to HQ." David says.

The Smoker nods and moves Melinda to a gurney and takes her to the jeep with David following. Kendra is given her own jeep with Jane, the latter driving. They arrive back at HQ and both Kendra and Melinda are put into care with female doctors. The rest of the team gets some rest.


End file.
